Miners from two copper mines in the southern African country were rescued after being trapped because of a nationwide blackout that Zambia suffered on Sunday, the country's Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Peter Mumba said during a briefing at the Energy Regulation Board organization central office in the capital city of Lusaka.
"During the power outage, there were two mines that had people trapped underground. These mines included a Chinese mine in Chambishi and Mopani Mine at Mindolo shaft. Kindly note that the people who were trapped were all safely rescued as the mines were supplied with an alternative power supply," the secretary said.
Mumba thanked Zambia's state-owned power utility ZESCO Limited for an immediate start of the restoration of power. He added that the health care system stood out of the outage because medical facilities had emergency power backup systems.
During the same briefing, ZESCO Limited acting Managing Director Justin Longo underscored that the cause of the blackout is still unknown; the investigation is going on.
In February, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema issued a statement declaring a national state of emergency due to a drought caused by the climate change phenomenon El Nino in the 2023-2024 rainy season, which devastated food production and power generation, and called on local and international partners to help combat its effects in the country.
Earlier this month, the president said in a statement after a meeting with Wonderful Group Chief Operations Officer Frank Mulenga that Zambia is considering a proposal by the Chinese-owned Wonderful Group to build a $900 million, 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant.